Review: Ariel Pink shows his most absurd and impressive traits on Dedicated To Bobby Jameson

Dedicated to Bobby Jameson is an extremely entertaining and visceral listen, a necessity for those who even slightly comprehend Ariel Pink for what he really is - a tortured genius. Pink embraces an absurdist ideology throughout. Each track from Dedicated to Bobby Jameson grows on you like a bacteria. A listen here, a listen there, and sooner than later you notice these songs swallowing your concentration whole, as Pink's lustrous voice takes your train of thought over completely.

Ariel Pink's mere existence is a mystery. Not his physical form; that exists in California. But his consciousness? That is living and thriving in a place unknown to mankind; a place where any reality is feasible, where any form of music can be a pop song. His career - spanning well beyond the last two decades - has given him plenty of time and room to become the sharpest version of himself he can possibly be. His persona, often associated with glam rock and freak pop culture, has transformed from a live show stint to a full-fledged lifestyle, a move that has taken years of tedious studio work, crate-digging, and self-discovery. Pink is a rockstar. Not in the generic sense, but rather, in the style of David Bowie, Robyn Hitchcock, and Marc Bolan; the tortured rockstar, the one that, no matter what sort of music they compose, will do it their own way, the way that makes sense out of the world of greed they live in.

But perhaps the one aspect that points to this conclusion is Pink's latest release, Dedicated to Bobby Jameson. For those who are unfamiliar with the history of psychedelic rock and roll - or pop music from the 60s - Bobby Jameson's career just so happened to line up with the era that made rock and roll a culture, rather than just a fad. Surrounded by the likes of Brian Wilson, The Beatles, and Frank Zappa, Jameson was determined to be one of the generation's greatest minds, but instead, ended up as a failed artist who fell into the trap of severe alcoholism and industry shade, eventually suffering from depression and losing just about everything he had. It's no surprise that Pink dedicated his latest album to the late Jameson. Not that they ever knew each other, nor did Jameson know Pink existed before his death in 2015, but this tragic ending for an artist with a specific determination most likely made a lasting impact on Pink. After all, every artist has some sort of major influence on them, whether it's their persona, their music, or their lifestyle.

So now we arrive at Dedicated to Bobby Jameson. Following Pink's 2015 masterpiece Pom Pom, the idea that modern pop music couldn't be weird, dark, or both was fading away as the album basically busted the barriers of what pop music could actually be. With that said, Pink's music isn't for everybody. This must be well understood before attempting to digest a Pink album in its entirety. Much like Animal Collective - the group that brought Pink to the indie mainstream - his music is best listened to with no expectations, as the trials and tribulations of Pink's persona expose you to ideas and sounds that may have never seemed plausible.

As the lead singles, 'Time to Live', 'Another Weekend', and 'Feels Like Heaven' surfaced a few months prior to the release of Jameson, it gave the listener a glimpse of what was to come from Pink's latest masterpiece. And that's exactly what it is - a masterpiece of freak-pop, kraut rock, and reverberated chamber-pop. While lead single 'Feels Like Heaven' throws the listener into an episode of déjà-vu that lands in the hearts and souls of Morrissey and Robert Smith, tracks like 'Bubblegum Dreams' resonate as a punkish ode to Brian Wilson, circa Smile Sessions. This is all in a day's work for Pink, as his sharp talent for composing hypnagogic-pop lands the listener in episodes of intense nostalgia, punch-drunk on their own recollection of past sounds.

Dedicated to Bobby Jameson is an extremely entertaining and visceral listen, a necessity for those who even slightly comprehend Ariel Pink for what he really is - a tortured genius. Pink embraces an absurdist ideology on Jameson; there are lyrics like "we must be vigilant and strong within this war/ You can not die, you have to live, that's what it's for/ There is a time for living life and killing scars/ Time to live, time to die," which is just one random sample. The album presents itself with no common theme, much like a compilation album, and it works around ideas of what it would sound like to melt every signature style of American pop into one album.

Each track from Dedicated to Bobby Jameson grows on you like a bacteria. A listen here, a listen there, and sooner than later you notice these songs swallowing your concentration whole, as Pink's lustrous voice takes your train of thought over completely. Dedicated to Bobby Jameson is not just another Ariel Pink album. He has come forth with an album which demonstrates every strength that he has as an artist and a showman. Dedicated to Bobby Jameson picks up where the late Bobby Jameson left off, solidifying his name as an inspiration for one of the most impressive indie-rock records of the past decade.